Yet another correctional officer has been assaulted at a troubled state prison in south Alabama.
The Alabama Department of Corrections says a lieutenant at Holman prison in Atmore was attempting to control an inmate when the man assaulted the officer with a makeshift weapon yesterday.
The officer was treated for a cut above his eye, and 27-year-old inmate Robert Washington has been charged with assault. He is currently serving 20 years for a robbery conviction in Montgomery.
The latest assault comes just weeks after another correctional officer, Kenneth Bettis, was fatally stabbed at Holman Prison. The facility has seen frequent violence as well as multiple inmate uprisings and riots recently in protest of conditions.
Holman Prison is currently on lockdown due to the assault and an emergency response team is on hand.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department announced it was launching an investigation into Alabama’s prison system to see if inmates’ constitutional rights were being violated.